Radio's Inconvenient Truth

Fred Jacobs

Radio's addicted to the 25-54 year-old demographic, states longtime radio consultant and prolific blogger Fred Jacobs.

In a year-end recap of 2018 posting, Jacobs writes it's an age-old excuse – “That's what advertisers want” – has become a mantra that virtually every broadcast radio programmer faces. Bonuses are based on this target audience, research has become focused on this 30-year age span, and wins and losses are measured by where stations rank on its yardstick.

However for years, Jacobs says most radio companies have paid scant attention to younger consumers, as they first got iPods, then smartphones, and later Spotify and YouTube accounts to suit their music needs.

According to Jacobs, here's inconvenient truth:

• Many kids simply don't know what a radio is.  And by the time they're old enough to drive, that SUV in the driveway will pair their phones, providing them access to media and entertainment from the Internet (or satellite) service of their choice – platforms they're comfortable with and have grown up with.

So what does research tell us about Gen Z and how they listen to music?  To gain perspective on where music is being consumed in America, he cites a report from AudienceNet, a UK-based research company.  They sampled 3,000 Americans with online access, ages 16+ this past July.

This chart best visualizes the box radio has put itself in largely because of its 25-54 myopia:

Jacobs believes the 16-24 year-old demographic tells the story, where only 12% of music consumption is to AM/FM radio (note that broadcast radio streaming for music is in the single digits in every cell, not really making a big difference).  And when you isolate 16-19 year-olds – a demographic that radio hasn't even thought about since the 70s – their use of on-demand streaming platforms for music is almost 5x over broadcast radio listening.   The chart also indicates that even among that first 10-year group in the coveted “money demo” – 25-34s – music streaming services are now in the lead.

Jacobs suggests it's a good time to make some choices – either broadcast radio will finally have to justify and support stations that skew 35-64 to a stubborn ad community, or the industry will finally have to start getting serious about appealing to Millennials, as well as their younger brothers and sisters.  Radio has a serious Next Gens(s) problem that isn't going to magically resolve itself when today's teens become adults.

SiriusXM Re-Ups Scott Greenstein As Pres/CCO

Scott Greenstein

SiriusXM presented a new deal to President/CCO Scott Greenstein this week.

A employment agreement renewal that will keep him as president and chief content officer through May 2022. Greenstein will be paid an annual base salary of $1.6 million but could pocket as much as $4 million per year if certain performance goals are met.

Since joining what was then Sirius Satellite Radio in 2004, Greenstein expanded the company’s programming lineup to include more than 175 channels. Under his purview, the satcaster launched new formats and artist-branded channels, and cut deals with marquee talent and top content partners. In addition to programming Greenstein also oversees ad sales.

Greenstein’s Employment Agreement specifies an annual base salary of $1,600,000 and an opportunity to earn a target annual bonus equal to 150% of his base salary based on the achievement of performance goals.

Also this week, the Department of Justice greenlighted SiriusXM’s $3.5 billion purchase of Pandora. The DOJ’s Hart Scott Rodino antitrust waiting period expired Dec. 21, taking the merger one step closer to completion. Pandora's board meets January 29th to vote on the deal. Closing is expected soon after.

Report: Yankees, Amazon, Sinclair Talking YES

The New York Yankees are in talks with Amazon.com Inc. and broadcaster Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc. about partnering to bid for the team’s regional sports network YES, according to The Wall Street Journal citing people familiar with the matter.

The Yankee Entertainment and Sports Network LLC, which carries Yankee baseball and Brooklyn Nets basketball, is among the 21st Century Fox Inc. assets that Walt Disney Co. is required to sell for the government to approve its purchase of the majority of the company.

The Yankees own 20% of YES and have first dibs on acquiring the remaining 80%. The team has been talking to a variety of potential partners to purchase the network, for which Disney is seeking a valuation of $5 billion to $6 billion, people familiar with the matter said.

The Yankees have also approached cable operator Altice USA, which has systems in the New York City region, about joining the team’s effort to acquire 80% of YES.

As the primary TV home for one of the most popular franchises in the number-one media market, YES is seen as one of the most valuable sports properties in the country.

For Amazon, a stake in YES would give it entry into another realm of the sports business. It already streams National Football League games on Thursday nights live on its Prime platform and has talked with other leagues in recent years about other partnerships to widen its subscription media offering.

Should it join with the Yankees, Amazon isn’t likely to immediately begin streaming games on its own platforms, a person close to the team said. In addition, Major League Baseball restrictions would likely prohibit Amazon from streaming games outside the Yankees market. Furthermore, the MLB’s streaming deals with the bulk of regional sports networks expired after this season and needs to be renegotiated, which could also complicate potential streaming opportunities for Amazon.

In another possible hurdle for Amazon, pay-TV distributors that currently carry Yankee games—including Altice, Charter Communications Inc., Comcast Corp. and DirecTV—would likely balk at games being carried by the retail and streaming giant as well.

Sinclair is also interested in the 21 regional channels and is working with the private-equity firm Blackstone Group LP on a bid for them, people close to the matter said. Baltimore-based Sinclair, which is a large owner of local TV stations, has said it is interested in expanding further into the cable business through local sports networks.

Report: DOJ Backs Off Comcast-NBCUniversal Merger Probe

The Department of Justice has decided against ramping up an investigation into Comcast’s seven-year-old acquisition of NBCUniversal — despite Trump recently doubling down on his criticism of the tie-up as anticompetitive, The NY Post has learned.

The DOJ said in August it was still monitoring Comcast’s activities even though a consent decree in which it agreed not to withhold NBC programming from rival cable companies or video-streaming services was expiring in September.

Nevertheless, federal prosecutors have failed to file a so-called civil investigative demand for company records that would mark a stepped-up investigation and has no plans to do so — effectively clearing the regulatory cloud that has long hung over the deal, according to sources.

The DOJ is backing off partly because it fears it wouldn’t get a favorable hearing from US Judge Richard Leon, who approved the merger in 2011, according to The NY Post citing sources. That’s because Leon appears miffed over the DOJ’s recent appeal to his June approval of AT&T’s merger with Time Warner — a deal which, also against Trump’s wishes, allowed the companies to retain ownership of CNN.

The tide appeared to turn late last month, when Leon ordered a surprise delay of the CVS-Aetna merger into next summer, castigating DOJ officials for not policing the deal more aggressively.

Just two weeks earlier, momentum had appeared to be building for the DOJ to move against Comcast, whose NBC division’s “Saturday Night Live” has drawn barbs from Trump over Alec Baldwin’s mugging impersonations of him.

On Nov. 12, the American Cable Association, which represents more than 700 smaller video and broadband providers, asked the DOJ to open an investigation into Comcast. That prompted Trump to tweet that the trade group said Comcast “routinely violates Antitrust laws.”

Trump has a history with NBC that some insiders argue is even more bitter than his feud with CNN. On top of Baldwin’s weekly insults, NBC in 2015 ended its partnership with Trump to air the Miss USA and Miss Universe pageants after the presidential candidate vowed to stop “rapists” and “criminals” from Mexico from coming to the US.

On the campaign trail, Trump said President Obama’s DOJ never should have cleared the Comcast-NBC merger.

NBC Claims Weekly Ratings Win

Chevel Shepherd and Kelly Clarkson

The 16-year-old charmer who conquered “The Voice” with her old-school country touch helped boost NBC to a weekly ratings win, reports The Associated Press citing Nielsen data.

Nearly 10 million viewers watched Chevel Shepherd win the singing contest, making it last week’s most popular entertainment show. Shepherd, of Farmington, New Mexico, was coached by another talent show discovery: inaugural “American Idol” victor Kelly Clarkson.

Football once again proved its ratings dominance, with broadcast and cable games and pre- or post-game shows claiming six of the week’s top 10 spots. The top-ranked game — and program overall — was NBC’s Sunday night NFL showcase, in which the Seattle Seahawks clinched a spot in the NFC playoffs with a 38-31 win over the Kansas City Chiefs.

NBC won the week in prime time, averaging 6.7 million. CBS, aided by “60 Minutes” and top 20 reruns of stalwart series including “NCIS” and “The Big Bang Theory,” followed with 6.4 million. ABC had 3 million, Fox had 1.7 million, ION Television had 1.28 million, Univision had 1.2 million, Telemundo had 1 million and the CW had 790,000.

CABLE TV

ESPN was the week’s most popular cable network, averaging 2.8 million people in prime time. Holiday-spirited Hallmark had 2 million, MSNBC had 1.9 million, Fox News Channel had 1.87 million and CNN had 1.1 million.

MSNBC had an impressive week, finishing ahead of Fox News and CNN in prime time across the key measurements, including total viewers and among the advertiser-preferred Adults 25-54 demographic. In fact, with only one week left in December, NBC’s politics-focused cable network is on track to finish the month as the No. 1 cable news network in prime time among Adults 25-54.

Prime Time (Total Viewers):

1. ESPN (2,890,000)
2. Hallmark Channel (2,069,000)
3. MSNBC (1,975,000)
4. Fox News (1,923,000)
5. NFL Network (1,371,000)

Basic Cable Ranker: Week of... by on Scribd

ABC’s “World News Tonight” topped the evening newscasts with an average of 8.7 million viewers. NBC’s “Nightly News” was second with 8.4 million and the “CBS Evening News” had 6.2 million.

TOP SHOWS ON BROADCAST TV

Prime-time viewership numbers compiled by Nielsen for Dec. 17-23. Listings include the week’s ranking and viewership.

1. NFL Sunday Night Football: Kansas City at Seattle, NBC, 19.6 million.
2. NFL Regular Season: New Orleans at Charlotte, ESPN, 13.3 million.
3. “Sunday Night NFL Pre-kick,” NBC, 12.6 million.
4. “60 Minutes,” CBS, 12 million.
5. “Fox NFL Sunday Post-Game,” Fox, 10.3 million.
6. “The Voice (Tuesday),” NBC, 9.9 million.
7. “The Voice (Monday),” NBC 9.5 million.
8. “Thursday Night Football: Baltimore at Los Angeles Chargers,” NFL Network, 8.2 million.
9. “Football Night in America,” NBC. 8.1 million.
10. “Survivor,” CBS, 7.7 million.

11. “The Voice (Tuesday),” NBC, 7.2 million.
12. “NCIS,” CBS, 7.1 million.
13. “The Big Bang Theory,” CBS, 7 million.
14. “Madam Secretary,” CBS, 6.6 million.
15. “Young Sheldon,” CBS, 6.57 million.
16. “The Big Bang Theory,” CBS, 6.4 million.
17. “America’s Got Talent: Holiday,” NBC, 6.2 million.
18. Thursday Night Football: Washington at Tennessee, NFL Network, 6.19 million.
19. “The Neighborhood,” CBS, 6.1 million.
20. “Thursday Night Football Pre-kick,” NFL Network, 5.6 million.

The top talk and court shows had hot hands in the session ending Dec. 16, with leaders Doctor Phil and Judge Judy both scoring double-digit increases.

Phil surged 11% to a four-week high 3.0 live-plus-same-day national Nielsen rating and finished first among takers for the 119th straight week.

TALK SHOWS

1. Dr. Phil (CTD) 3.0 +11%
2. Live with Kelly and Ryan (Disney-ABC) 2.3 +5%
3. Ellen DeGeneres (WBDTD) 2.3 NC
4. Maury (NBCU) 1.4 +8%
5. Wendy Williams (Debmar-Mercury) 1.4 +8%

MAGAZINE SHOWS

1. Inside Edition (CTD) 3.1 +3%
2. Entertainment Tonight (CTD) 3.0 +3%
3. TMZ (WBDTD) 1.3 NC
4. Access (NBCU) 1.3 NC
5. Extra (WBDTD) 1.1 NC

Amazon Says The Holidays Were Great for Its Echo Dot

Amazon has announced a record-breaking holiday season. Amazon customers shopped at record levels from a wide selection of products across every department, discovering top holiday gifts and trending products offered at deep discounts and low prices. Some of the best-selling products this season included, all-new Echo Dot, L.O.L. Surprise! Glam Glitter Series Doll, fashion items from Carhartt, and Bose QuietComfort Wireless Headphones, among others.

“This season was our best yet, and we look forward to continuing to bring our customers what they want, in ways most convenient for them in 2019. We are thrilled that in the U.S. alone, more than one billion items shipped for free this holiday with Prime,” said Jeff Wilke, CEO Worldwide Consumer. “Thank you to our employees all around the world who are committed to bringing our customers the widest selection of products with low prices and fast and free delivery options throughout the holidays and all year long.”

Amazon Devices & Alexa

• Customers purchased millions more Amazon Devices this holiday season compared to last year – the best-selling Amazon Devices this holiday included all-new Echo Dot, Fire TV Stick 4K with all-new Alexa Voice Remote, and Echo.
• It was a record holiday season for Amazon’s Kids Edition devices; customers purchased more Echo Dot Kids Edition and Fire Kids Edition tablets than ever before.
• Customers used Alexa to listen to hundreds of millions more hours of music this holiday season compared to last holiday season, and on even more services – including Amazon Music, Spotify, Tidal, and Apple Music, among others.
• Customers were in to the festive spirit with Alexa Skill Blueprints – popular Blueprints this holiday season were The Holiday Story, Santa’s Letter, and the Hallmark Holiday Greeting.
• The number one holiday song that customers requested this holiday season was “All I Want for Christmas is You” by Mariah Carey.

Radio Listeners Are Resolute

As we gear up to close out the year, the making of New Year resolutions turns into a heated frenzy as we vow to be better. Should we eat healthier? Save more money? Travel more? Radio listeners have a lot to say about their New Year resolutions, and a lot of it plays out by age, format, and gender.

According to Westwood One citing a recent national study among 377 respondents, conducted by Maru/Vision Critical between November 9-November 18, 2018, radio listeners are hot to get healthy and not hot to make resolutions after a certain age:

• The most popular resolutions for 2019 are: exercise more/improve fitness (42%), save more money (41%), and eat healthier (38%).
• Nearly all of the New Year’s resolution skew younger towards Millennials 18-34. Maybe as consumers get older the mystique behind making New Year’s resolutions starts to fade.
• Men are two times less likely to choose a New Year’s resolution for 2019 versus women. Still, the number one resolution for both demographics is to exercise more/improve fitness.
• Improving fitness and health along with saving money also rose to the top among most frequent format listeners.

The study also showed that listeners of R&B, Hip Hop, and Soft Rock were more likely to make resolutions over listeners of Alternative Rock, Classic Rock, Rock, Country, News/Talk, Sports, and Top 40. You can read more in the attached slides.

So enjoy the remaining holiday cookies and chocolate Santas while you have a few hours left. Happy New Year from Westwood One. The clock is ticking…

December 28 Radio History

➦In 1915...announcer Dick Joy was born in Putnam, Connecticut.

Starting in local LA radio while a USC journalism student he became the youngest staff announcer in CBS radio history at age 21. On radio he worked on The Danny Kaye Show, The Sad Sack, Vox Pop, The Adventures of Sam Spade, Blue Ribbon Town, Dr. Kildare. Silver Theatre, New Old Gold Show, The Saint, and The Danny Thomas Show.  On TV his assignments included December Bride, Perry Mason, Have Gun – Will Travel, Daktari, Lost in Space, Gomer Pyle U.S.M.C., and Playhouse 90.

He died Oct. 31 1991 at age 75.

➦In 1953...Bob Pittman, CEO of iHeartMedia was born.

The son of a Methodist minister, Pittman was born in Jackson, Mississippi, but raised in Brookhaven and became a radio announcer at the age of 15 to earn money for flying lessons.

He was an announcer in a number of cities and then successfully programmed radio stations in Pittsburgh, Chicago and finally at the NBC flagship station, WNBC-AM, in New York when he was 23 years old. He also produced and co-hosted a music video and news show in 1978 that ran on NBC's O&O Television stations.

He did learn to fly, and has been a pilot for almost 40 years: He now has over 6,000 flight hours; currently holds an Airline Transport Pilot's license for airplanes; and is rated for helicopters and 3 types of jets.

➦In 1981...WEA Records (Warner-Elektra-Atlantic) raised the price of its 45 rpm records from $1.68 to $1.98. The company was the leader of the pack with other labels soon boosting their prices. Within a few years, the 45 rpm record was “boosted” right out of existence by the arrival of the CD.

NYC Radio: Francesa Narrowly Wins The Battle of Sports Mikes

WFAN's Mike Francesa

Mike Francesa of WFAN 660 AM / 101.9 FM  edged Michael Kay of WEPN 98.7 FM ESPN New York in the quarterly autumn ratings book, averaging 5.9 percent of the over-the-air audience among men ages 25-54 to Kay’s 5.8, according to Newsday citing data Nielsen Audio reported on Wednesday.

The two shows ranked second and third overall in the market in that key, advertiser-friendly demographic, behind only a Spanish-language music station, WSKQ-FM, for the period Sept. 13 through Dec. 5.

Kay never has beaten Francesa for a full book, but he has narrowed the ratings gap through the years, and consistently is the highest-rated show on his station.

Emmis' ESPN tends to do better at the younger end of the ratings range, and Entercom's WFAN wins among older listeners, including those over 55. But the 25-54 demo is how the stations measure themselves, and sell advertising time.

The ratings race in afternoon drive time was reignited by Francesa’s return to WFAN on May 1. This fall was the first full ratings book since he came back.

Kay finished the quarter strongly after Francesa took an early lead in October. He will get another shot in winter, assuming Francesa sticks around for that. He has said that he might have to choose between his app and over-the-air radio, and that if he does have to pick one over the other, he will choose the former.

Tim McCarthy, the senior vice president who oversees the New York station for ESPN, said he “couldn’t be happier” with the Kay show, citing the chemistry among Kay, Don La Greca and Peter Rosenberg.

Very tough for constant and chronic losers to lose as always, especially when they give away a ton of money and still lose. I was No.1 in the fall book. Others make up nonsense.

— Mike Francesa (@MikeFrancesa) December 26, 2018

WFAN led comfortably at other times of the day, with the morning show finishing third at 5.6 percent of the audience and ESPN 12th at 3.8. WFAN’s streaming number from 6 to 10 a.m. was 0.6, which added to the 5.6 would have made that show second overall.

You know what’s a really cool trick? Listen closely to what a person says or tweets and you can tell that they have a really small, tiny, insignificant package of self esteem and self worth. You really can!

— Michael Kay (@RealMichaelKay) December 26, 2018

Meanwhile, on Twitter Kay quickly had a replied to a Francesa jab, for which he later apologized.

Earlier today I sent out a tweet in response to an unprovoked tweet sent out earlier by @MikeFrancesa and I want to apologize to my family, friends and fans who expect better from me. No need for me to respond in kind when those that listen to my show know that’s not me.

— Michael Kay (@RealMichaelKay) December 27, 2018

I would also like to congratulate @MikeFrancesa on his tenth of a point victory in the three month battle. Fair and square l, Mike finished second and I was third. All good. I have no complaints in life. Can’t wait to do battle over the next 3 months.

— Michael Kay (@RealMichaelKay) December 27, 2018

PPMs Day 1: Holiday Hits Power December Ratings

Nielsen on Wednesday 12/26/18 released the first batch of  December 2018 PPMs results.  The markets released include:

   1  New York

   2  Los Angeles
 

   3  Chicago

   4  San Francisco

   5  Dallas-Ft. Worth 

   6  Houston-Galveston

   8  Atlanta

   9  Philadelphia

  20  Nassau-Suffolk (Long Island NY)

  25  Riverside-San Bernardino CA

  37  San Jose CA

  42  Middlesex-Somerset-Union NJ

Click Here to view Topline numbers for subscribing Nielsen stations.

Cable News Ratings: MSNBC Beats Fox News

MSNBC beat out Fox News last week in key ratings for first time in 17 years, topping its competitor in total viewers for the first time since 2000, according to The Hill citing a news release from MSNBC.

MSNBC averaged 1,558,000 total viewers during the "sales day" (6 a.m. to 2 a.m.) between Dec. 17-21, making it the top cable news network in the key 25-54 age demographic.

Fox News averaged 1,541,000 total viewers while CNN averaged 975,000.

In prime time (8 p.m. to 11 p.m.), MSNBC continued to lead Fox News and CNN in total viewers and among that key age group for the fourth week in a row.

MSNBC prime time last week averaged 2,578,000 total viewers, compared to Fox's 2,240,000 and CNN’s 1,398,000. Of those viewers, 471,000 thousand were between the ages of 25 and 54 for MSNBC. Fox saw 355,000 viewers in that demographic, while CNN saw 415,000 viewers.

The week's ratings marked a significant drop for Fox, which typically leads the pack.

The latest data means MSNBC could be on track to top Fox News in prime time for the month of December, according to MSNBC.

"The Rachel Maddow Show" finished the week as the top-rated program across all cable news networks, averaging 3,213,000 total viewers by Dec. 21.

Sean Hannity's top-rated Fox show was off all of last week, which could have slowed Fox's viewership, a network spokesperson told The Hill. "Hannity" in October boasted an average total audience of 3.340 million viewers, making him the of most-watched host in cable news in the third quarter, Forbes reported.

A Fox News spokesperson told The Hill that Fox News Channel is on track to beat out its competitors for the quarter and the year, having the highest-rated year ever in primetime.

MNF Finishes 2018 Regular Season Up Eight Percent

MNF – Most-Watched Series on Cable for the Second Straight Year 

ESPN’s Monday Night Football finished the 2018 NFL regular season up eight percent year-over-year with an average viewership of 11,647,000 over 17 games (16 weeks).

In addition to the eight percent gain over 2017 (10,788,000), MNF also increased two percent vs. 2016 (11,390,000).

2018 MNF Season Highlights:

• MNF finished the season as the most-watched series on cable for the second straight year.
• MNF accounted for nine of the top 20 most-watched telecasts on cable in 2018.
• MNF helped ESPN win the night all 16 Mondays this season, among all networks – broadcast or cable – in households, viewers and all key male and adult demos (18-34, 18-49, 25-54).
• MNF was the most-watched telecast of the day on 15 of 16 Mondays in households, viewers and all key male and adult demos.
• MNF’s most-watched game of the season was the Chiefs-Rams thriller on Nov. 19, attracting an audience of 7 million viewers. It was the first MNF game played in Los Angeles in 33 years, though originally scheduled for Mexico City.

The top 10 MNF metered markets this season include New Orleans (14.4), Norfolk (11.6), Richmond (10.9), Kansas City (10.6), Denver (10.5), Washington D.C. (10.1), Seattle-Tacoma (9.9), San Diego, Albuquerque and Phoenix (9.6).

ESPN’s MNF debuted a brand new commentator team in 2018, featuring Joe Tessitore, Jason Witten, Booger McFarland and reporter Lisa Salters.

MNF Team to Call an NFL Wild Card Playoff Game and the 2019 Pro Bowl:

• ESPN’s MNF team will call an NFL Wild Card playoff game (January 5 or 6, 2019), as well as the 2019 Pro Bowl in Orlando (January 27).